Police are looking for a young man who sexually assaulted a woman in the Wellington suburb of Kilbirnie.

The attack is the third sexual attack on a woman in public in Wellington's eastern suburbs in the past fortnight and police have not ruled out the possibility they may be linked.

Police communications spokesman Inspector Ken Climo said police were called after a woman reported the attack on Rodrigo Rd about 1.50pm on Tuesday.

She had been out for a walk and struck up a conversation with the alleged attacker, but the conversation "deteriorated", he said.

"He apparently tried to give her a kiss on the cheek then pulled his trousers down.”

The attacker was described as a Maori teenager wearing a black baseball cap, a black puffer jacket and jeans. Police were still searching for the man, Mr Climo said.

Police are also investigating two other recent attacks in the eastern suburbs:

On May 14 a woman in her 20s suffered moderate injuries after she was grabbed from behind, dragged more than 20 metres along the ground into a secluded area and violated on Ludlam St, near St Anthony's School, Seatoun, about 9.45pm.

On Wednesday last week, a 19-year-old woman was grabbed from behind and dragged a short a distance as she walked on a pathway between Taranaki St and Tasman St, in Mt Cook near Wellington High School and Massey University, about 9pm.

Police have identified a small list of suspects who could be connected to the Seatoun attack.

Detective Inspector Paul Basham said yesterday police investigating the incident were working their way through a small list of "persons of interest" who matched the description of the alleged attacker.

Police had drawn up the list based on information from the public and includes those who police knew were in the area at the time, Mr Basham said.

The young woman in Seatoun was pushed to the ground and assaulted before a man walking along the path scared off the attacker, who ran back towards the school grounds.

The man was described as having dark skin, aged in his early 20s, and about 1.85 metres (6ft 1in) tall. He was wearing a khaki top with a hood and a black beanie.

The Mt Cook attacker was described as Maori or Asian, aged about 20, about 1.7 metres tall, with acne on his cheeks and short dark hair.

"It's prudent that police consider the possibility that they [the Seatoun and Mt Cook attacks] could be linked," Mr Basham said.